How a Small Farm was managed. 215 



whenever it was necessary to cart manure about the bushes, which should 

 be done at least once in three or four years. After the bushes were plant- 

 ed, a furrow was turned up against them from each side. 



Two acres were to be devoted to raspberries, — a fruit that we felt had been 

 neglected : but we preferred to set these in the spring ; and so we decided 

 where to have them, measured the land, and left it. I'he blackberry-patch 

 of one acre was chosen from the very best land, and received a high ma- 

 nuring ; but the setting of the plants was deferred until spring. The five 

 acres to be devoted to strawberries were well manured with horse-manure 

 and ashes, at the rate of four hundred dollars' worth to the acre, or about 

 thirty-two cords to the acre. While this may be regarded as heavy manur- 

 ing, we have known our neighbors to apply a still greater quantity. This 

 dressing was ploughed under, that nothing might be lost. The two acres 

 intended for grapes were the very dryest and poorest part of the farm, near 

 the top of a hill, sloping south east, with natural drainage so good, that we 

 did not deem it necessary to put in tile-drains. We manured the land, and 

 put up trellises and posts ready to receive the vines in the spring. These 

 posts or stakes were about eight and a half to nine feet long, and went into 

 the ground about two and a half feet. On these posts the weaker-growing 

 kinds were to be trained spirally. The trellises were of wire ; and the rows, 

 either of posts or trellises, were eight feet apart, and the vines four to six 

 feet apart in the \o\\\ All was ready for setting the vines as soon as the 

 land was in condition to receive them the next season. Winter was now 

 upon us, and we made preparations to draw a large quantity of meadow- 

 muck and horse-manure; for, without plenty of good dressing, it is of little 

 use to attempt to run a farm. This is not true at the West, where the 

 land is naturally so fertile, and the crop needs no such stimulus. The time, 

 however, must come when even such lands will be benefited by the appli- 

 cation of dressing ; and we should think it the part of wisdom not to waste 

 it. In November, and early in December, the hot-beds were put down to 

 raise early lettuce for the market. A large quantity of manure was re- 

 quired for this, and much time was spent ; but nothing that we did paid 

 better. The entire crop of seven hundred dozen averaged a dollar a dozen ; 

 so that we realized the nice little sum of seven hundred dollars for this one 

 article. This any person may do who is acquainted with the raising of this 



